The Best Time To Buy A New Jet Ski? Winter + Spring + Summer + Autumn?

When it comes to jet skis, the best time to ride is usually the worst time to purchase.

I know I wrote some about this here, but I wanted to go into more details about the best purchasing timeframes. It’s more tricky than providing dates, let me explain.

The Best Time To Buy A Jet Ski?

August and September are the best buy timeframe for picking up a new jet ski, as that’s when the manufacturers debut the upcoming year’s lineup.

So if it’s 2025, jet ski manufacturers will be releasing the 2026’s around August to September 2025 time. I know that carmakers are one year ahead, and that can be confusing, but for the most part, current year jet ski models are the year you’re in now.

Why August or September?

It’s not given that August and September are the best buy timeframe. What determines the best timeframe is when they release the newest jet ski models for the new year.

For all we know, they could change it up and release next year’s jet ski models in June time, so keep that in mind. For the most part, the best timeframe has always been between August or September. So buy in those months.

The time right before the release of the new jet ski models, the manufacturer wants the dealers selling as many of the last year’s models as possible so that they’ll buy the latest jet ski models. With that in mind, the manufacturer cranks out better rebates and warranties that you don’t see often when you buy yourself.

But There’s A Catch!

While it’s often that the manufacturer will release some great promotions during August or September, it doesn’t mean it’ll always be the best buy period. Sometimes the market is good, and many dealers don’t have much stock, so they don’t need to give many incentives.

We saw this in 2020 time because of the world shutting down. Other times the market is bad, and dealers have a lot of inventory, so they need to give the best rebates possible. We saw this during the 2008 recession and a few years after for a time or two.

Just as with the stock market, timing the jet ski market isn’t the best idea. Some years are good, others are bad. The best moment to get your jet ski is often when no one is looking to buy. For example, in the winter months or off seasons tend to be good buying timeframes.

You’ll get some curveballs when you buy depending on the market

The good news is that you’ll get curveballs on time sometimes. Either before the jet ski season starts or in the dead heat of it, you’ll find that jet ski manufacturers will come out with some of the best promotions.

Make sure to know the promotions before buying, check out the manufacturer’s websites here…

• Sea-Doo
• Yamaha
• Kawasaki

I’ve seen some crazy good promotions given in the middle of the season time, either because sales were slow or sales were good. The jet ski gods decided to sell – sell – sell!

Don’t Forget The Jet ski Dealers and the promotions they run

It’s not just the jet ski manufacturers that can determine the deals for when people buy, but also the dealers too.

Some dealerships get models they can’t simply move and if another dealership won’t take it, they’ll discount it to customers. You also have some dealerships who have a lot of competition around them and price the jet skis to move.

Most dealerships have a floor plan, meaning they finance the jet skis on the floor. After a certain time period, the finance company starts to charge interest and then the dealership often wants those jet skis to be sold. The models that are the most trouble for dealerships are the leftover models.

While still new, the dealership has carried over the leftover model to the next year. The manufacturer will often have rebates, but it’s not guaranteed. I’ve seen a few jet skis that simply won’t sell, so look for those when you buy and want the best deal.

When Do They Ship The New Jet skis?

New jet skis get shipped to Australia first, as their summer is the US’s winter. For the US jet skis, they can come in as soon as January, but many new models can still be shipped out until the next year models start to ship.

Dealerships are allotted so many units, and if the dealership doesn’t have the one you need, they can often get it from another dealership that is willing to sell it. The best way to get your name on one is to leave the deposit with your closest dealer or the dealer you like.

The Worst Time to buy…

There is no bad time to buy, though you might mistime the market. Just like everything in life, when there is more demand than supply, prices go up. If you want a jet ski that has plenty of demand but little supply, you’re usually not going to get the best deal possible.

But why do they do it like that?

Well, you may not want to pay that much for the jet ski, but the next guy will since the demand for it is so high. The right time can also play in your favor when you want to buy. Every region will have different promotions, so the person in Tennessee will have different promotions than the person in New Mexico.

It’s important not to worry or concern yourself with what others are getting for their jet skis but concern yourself with what’s selling and not selling if all you care about is the best price.

Note: If you really want a jet ski, and it’s the heat of the season, and the dealership has it in stock, then get it. I’ve observed many trying to time the perfect moment, only to find the jet ski is gone for the year with no replacements. Sometimes it’s best to bite the bullet and get it now and enjoy the summer with your family than it is to find that one golden nugget of a good deal.

Also, jet skis don’t get cheaper later; jet skis always go up in price every year, so father time is against you in the long run, that means buy now instead of later.

Buy jet skis in The Winter For The Best Deal!

Dealerships usually reduce prices in the winter time because most people don’t ride jet skis during that season. While prices go down during the winter months, it’s not always a guarantee when you go in and buy yours.

If demand is still high, like seen during the early 2020s time, jet ski prices will stay high. Typically, prices drop in winter due to low demand and dealerships wanting to make jet ski sales.

Buy In Winter – Where do you store your Jet Ski?

If you buy a new jet ski during the winter, you might be wondering how that goes, and how do you store it? It was common for customers to pay for jet skis during the winter, as that was when we had the best deals or the customer simply was not ready for it until next year.

For new crated jet skis that were pre-sold, we marked them as such and kept them in the crates. You want to keep them in the crates because it keeps them clean, and they’re winterized.

The customer would pick a date, often giving a week or two heads-up, and take deliver then.

Often, the jet ski trailer would not get assigned yet and if they did not have the jet ski in stock, they would still mark it as sold in their systems. Overall, the dealership will gladly store your new jet ski until you’re ready to take delivery next year. This was especially true if you paid for them in full.

Though, the financing will not happen until you take delivery.

Are the prices negotiable on jet skis?

You can negotiate jet ski prices, so long as demand is not too high. If demand is high, prices will stay high because someone behind you is willing to pay more. You’ll find jet skis have about 4% to 8% dealer markup, but it doesn’t mean you can expect that much off.

Jet skis don’t always have the nice hold-backs like car dealers have. You also have to factor in other things like freight, prep, doc, title and other fees.

You can negotiate some dealer fees for jet skis, but it can be a hurdle, as covered here. Every dealership is different, so I suggest getting quotes from the 3 nearest dealerships to get the best idea of real pricing and not what’s on the internet.

How Much does a jet ski cost?

Prices tend to will change every year, so that is why I create a post on jet ski prices here.

In that post, I have a calculator you can use to give you an idea of fees and other costs.

Let’s talk about price shopping and the prices online

I know no one likes to feel like they got a bad deal on something as expensive as jet skis, but it’s important to remember that people lie all the time on the internet. You’ll get the guy on the forums saying he got one for much lower than the quotes you get.

Please keep in mind that different regions will have different promotions depending on what is selling. Setting the various regions to the side, it’s important to remember people like to tell stories that make them look like the hero or simply make them look the best.

We get this from all the movies and books we read in our lives; we just want our friends and even random strangers to know we won the battle. While I’m not going to say that it’s not possible to get amazing deals – they’re out there – you can’t always believe what you read online.

Why Are Jet Skis So Expensive?

When I started working at a jet ski dealership in 2007, the most expensive jet ski cost about $13,000. Today, the most expensive jet ski goes for over $20,000! Prices go up every year on most ski models due to inflation, but in the early 2020s they went more crazy.

During that time, people were stuck at home, had extra money, and everyone set out on a buy a jet ski now journey. When demand is high, prices go up, even on used ones. We also saw inflation go up more, which added to the problem.

Even in 2007 you could not get a jet ski for $5k, but people thought that is how much they cost. Even today, people still think new jet skis are cheap and often shocked when they see the real costs. Boats, in general, have gone up, along with everything.

That is why the Spark was such a huge hit in 2014 when it started at $4,999 and brought more people into the sport. Unfortunately, we won’t see cheap jet skis in the future time again; prices will only continue to rise. This is why I advise against timing the jet ski market, as prices never drop.

Even trailer prices are soaring. To add to it, people want bigger and bigger jet skis. The jet skis of today are much larger than the jet skis of the 90s. Jet skis are the size of a small boat, shoot, even boats are getting bigger and bigger because that is what people want.

Dealerships like to play games, make sure to get the “full Picture” before Buying!

Don’t forget to get the complete picture when you buy jet skis. Never trust non-MSRP prices you see on dealer’s websites. The dealership can’t advertise below MSRP on current year models, but can make the price of last year’s jet skis anything they want.

You’ll see lower, often crazy low prices on last year’s models. This is a selling technique to get you to call or email. Always get the final price in writing and remember that this can be a gamble. If you don’t live in the state that you bought from, you might not get the full promotions, and this is why I encourage people to buy from their closest jet ski dealership or one in their own state.

It’s best to purchase from your local dealership for the simple fact you’ll need to take it to someone you trust for repairs. You’ll need someone to service and work on it, and having someone near that is good is best. It’s honestly worth the extra cost of buying from your local jet ski dealership, as they can be less hassle when something goes wrong.